Stability and change of attachment representations during emerging adulthood: An examination of mediators and moderators of change

Using Bartholomew’s model of attachment (K. Bartholomew, 1990; K. Bartholomew & L. Horowitz, 1991), we explored stability and change of attachment in a group of young adults graduating from university and examined reasons for change of attachment. Consistent with previous research, we found that attachment dimensions were moderately stable; however, several variables predicted change. We explored the effect of changing relationship status and parental divorce on attachment and found that individuals who remained single reported lower stability of avoidance over time. Next, we tested whether distress reported before the transition would mediate stability of attachment. The results provided some support for J. Bowlby’s (1969/1982) proposal that distress would be associated with stability and change of attachment. We found that participants who reported low distress at Time 1 (T1) were more likely to report changes in attachment anxiety than participants who reported high distress at T1.     

PARALLEL TEST FORM DEVELOPMENT: A PROCEDURE FOR ALTERNATE PREDICTORS AND AN EXAMPLE

A procedure for developing alternate test forms that are parallel in the sense that scores on the different forms have similar means, standard deviations, and factor structures is described and applied to a bio-data inventory and a situational judgment test. Careful consideration of item-by-item parallelism during development resulted in alternate forms that were parallel at the item level. Further, comparison with a biodata test form comprised of items randomly selected from a pool of biodata items revealed that for the types of measures described here it may be necessary to produce parallel forms of each item to create alternate forms that are parallel in the way in which Cronbach (1947) originally defined parallelism.     

DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIPLE JOB PERFORMANCE MEASURES IN A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF JOBS

The goal of criterion development in Project A was to construct multiple measures of the major components of job performance such that the total performance domain for a representative sample of the population of entry-level enlisted positions in the U.S. Army was covered. These measures were to be used as criteria against which to validate both experimental and existing predictors of job performance. The initial model specified that performance is multidimensional within two major categories of dimensions designated as organization-wide and job specific. The development strategy involved describing the total domain of job content via extensive task analyses and critical incident analyses, generating the critical performance dimensions that constitute it, constructing measures for each dimension, and evaluating each measure using expert judgment and field test data. The specific measures developed consisted of rating scales, tests of job knowledge, hands-on job samples, and archival records. The major steps in the job analyses, content sampling, instrument construction, and instrument evaluation are described, and the final array of criterion measures is presented.     

The Aged Are Family Members

Research reveals that the notion of the aged being abandoned or dumped by families is a myth. In general close ties and mutually responsible behavior continue. For those engaged in family treatment, older families and intergenerational relationships are a clinical frontier. Practitioners have the opportunity to experience and observe, in depth, the emotional quality and meaning of intergenerational relations. Older family members may play important roles in the family dynamics. It is hypothesized that their inclusion when appropriate in the treatment of younger families can be a preventive measure to forestall cyclical repetition of pathological relationship patterns. Just as family therapists are committed to the premise that many nuclear families are capable of psychological growth and change, they must become aware that aged family members have similar capacities. If intergenerational relationships are modified then family members in all the generations could be benefited.     

Social Support and the Job Satisfaction of Female Clerical Workers

The beneficial effects on job satisfaction of social support at work and home were established in this study of 85 randomly selected female clerical workers. Partners were found to be effective buffers of adverse work conditions as well.